Devon Woodcomb
Devon Christian "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb, M.D., is a support character and the brother-in-law of Chuck Bartowski in the action-comedy series ''Chuck'' on NBC. His nickname comes from his love of extreme sports, his apparent ability to do anything wonderfully, and his frequent usage of the word "awesome" in conversation. He is portrayed by Ryan McPartlin. Series Devon Woodcomb is a major recurring character in the series. He primarily appears in plots involving Chuck's home life, although he has been indirectly involved with the main plot. Devon was directly involved in the events of the series during a hostage crisis at the Buy More, as shown in the episode "Chuck Versus Santa Claus." He formulates a plan with Big Mike, Morgan, Jeff and Lester to take down Ned Rhyerson, though Chuck manages to dissuade him from it until he learns Ned is part of a Fulcrum plot. Devon has also been a source of remarkably sage advice to many characters, including Morgan and Chuck. A conversation with Awesome convinced Bryce Larkin that Sarah is no longer in love with him, and that her feelings for Chuck are genuine."Chuck Versus the Breakup" Although he's well aware of Morgan's crush on Ellie,Captain Awesome's Blog, February 14, 2009: [http://blog.nbc.com/Captain_Awesome/ Captain Awesome's Tips for Being Awesome] Devon is not at all threatened by him, and when Morgan offered her comfort after a fight never believed it possible that she might sleep with him."Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover" In fact, Devon shows signs of considering Morgan as something of a friend. He offered him advice on the finer points of being a man when Chuck was upset with his immaturity, and turned to Morgan for advice on how to woo Ellie. Devon also loaned Morgan money for an apartment, (though later was angered when Morgan used the money to buy a used Delorean instead) and allowed Morgan to stay on the couch for a few days so he could escape Big Mike's relationship with his mother."Chuck Versus the Beefcake" Awesome sees Chuck as a surrogate brother and the man of Ellie's family in the absence of their father, and felt it was important he have his permission before proposing marriage to her. On several occasions in the series he has advised Chuck on his (cover) relationship with Sarah and remarked on how slow they were taking things as part of their cover. He personally singled out several "candidates" for Chuck to date at the birthday party he and Ellie held for him, and when Ellie followed up on how Chuck was doing he noted "not awesome.""Chuck Versus the Intersect" When Sarah was injured in an explosion and Bryce visited her, Devon took it on himself to run interference and chase him off. Devon may not have known Bryce before his apparent death, as even though he confronted him face to face Devon didn't recognize him. He also taught Chuck to tango when preparing for his first mission, though inadvertently taught him the "women's part" of the dance."Chuck Versus the Tango" Devon is very much in love with Ellie, although they have fought in a few episodes. He wanted to buy a washer and dryer for their anniversary because he saw it as a chance for them to be able to spend more time together, which upset Ellie (who wanted to buy a new TV instead) because when she left him to decide what to get he automatically chose what he wanted, rather than considering her feelings. He proposed to Ellie in the season one finale with his great-grandmother's ring, and has since been involved in helping plan the wedding. He attempted to outsource some of his responsibilities to Chuck by asking him to find a band. Jeff and Lester offered their services, and after their audition failed when Lester chickened out, Jeff convinced him to give them a second chance. Although Jeffster! was less than impressive, Devon told Ellie that he could still let them live their dream for five minutes."Chuck Versus the Best Friend" In Chuck Versus the Broken Heart, Chuck and the male Buy More employees kidnapped Devon for a bachelor party, though Chuck only participated because of its implications in a mission to steal Awesome's hospital access card. He seemed pleased with the event, calling it "awesome," and explained to Ellie that Chuck and the boys kidnapped him into participation. He reaffirmed his love for Ellie during the bachelor party, declining to compromise his relationship with inappropriate behavior, even though Agent Alex Forrest, posing as a lady cop-themed stripper, lured him into the home theater room where she attempted to remove the access card from him under the guise of a strip-search. When he refused, she tranquilized him. While in a state of momentary confusion before passing out, he overheard Chuck talk of the CIA. These glimpses did not seem to have a lasting impression, however. While in Chuck's bedroom, he later got a brief glance of General Beckman on Chuck's TV when he inadvertently triggered a video conference by uttering Chuck's CIA alias, Charles Carmichael. Ellie later viewed some photos taken of him with Agent Forrest from the bachelor party, somewhat damaging Ellie and Awesome's relationship. In , Devon, while trying to find Chuck, learns of John Casey's extensive surveillance of Chuck from Lester and Jeff and uses keys from his locker to enter Casey's apartment. While attempting to access his computer, he initiates a lockdown, with metal bars blocking the windows and doors of the apartment. When Casey releases him, a major confrontation ensues between Devon, Casey, Sarah, and Chuck during which Chuck admits to being a high level CIA operative with Casey and Sarah as his handlers. Devon considers it "awesome" and agrees to provide cover with Ellie for Chuck. Devon and Ellie married in "Chuck Versus the Ring." He allowed Morgan to stall the first wedding at the church when he was told the order came from Chuck. He realizes something is wrong due to the fact that Chuck and Sarah are no where to be seen. The second ceremony took place later on the beach. In season three, Devon has expressed a greater interest in Chuck's spying activities. He continuously asks Chuck about it and covers for him when Ellie or Chuck's friends get flustered. He also seems to be ready to become a spy himself. In "Chuck Versus El Angel de la Muerte"'', Chuck is forced to allow Devon to come with him on a mission. The young doctor is the one who treats the dictator that Chuck and Team Bartowski are supposed to be protecting, so they use this tie to obtain his medical records. Devon seems stoked, thinking it sounds so cool, but is a little put off when all Chuck asks him about is what the dictator almost died of. The dictator, after learning who saved his life, invites Devon, Ellie, Chuck, and Sarah to his estate, where Chuck tries to save the dictator from an assassin. However, in typical ''Chuck fashion, they end up messing the mission up and a paranoid Casey is made to clean up the pieces. Devon mistakes Casey for the assassin, however, and gets him kidnapped. When another attempt is made by the assassin, the dictator specifically asks for Devon to come save his life, getting Chuck and Sarah back into the dictator's estate. He manages to save the dictator's life for the third time in part, giving the dictator a blood transfusion from Casey. Afterwards, Devon confesses that he doesn't like having to lie like they do to be spies. "Chuck Versus the Angel of Death" ends with Awesome treating the dictator's assassin, who comes at him with a syringe. His fate is unknown until the next episode, when it is shown that he was in fact captured by the Ring who mistook him for a CIA spy and sought to recruit him. The Ring believes Devon was the real CIA operative and tests him by ordering him to kill Daniel Shaw under threat of force. Under Chuck's guidance, Devon infiltrates Daniel's base and stages the murder to the satisfaction of Ring agent Sydney Prince. Chuck eventually manages to get the Ring off Devon's trail, much to his relief. Development When originally cast, Devon was only planned to have appeared for a handful of episodes before being revealed as an enemy spy at the end of Season 1. Because of the popularity of the character, however, this plan was dropped and Ryan McPartlin was added to the credits as a regular member of the cast from Season 2.Video [http://www.listal.com/video/9478362 Captain Awesome's Audition] Awesome has appeared as a recurring role throughout the first and second seasons, but Ryan McPartlin indicated that Devon would be featuring more prominently towards the end of Season 2, and that he would be growing suspicious of Chuck's actions and begin "asking questions."Development Update, March 20, 2009: [http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/chucks-captain-awesome-sa.php Sci-Fi Wire] Awesome's first name was first revealed to be Devon in Chuck vs the Helicopter. His middle name "Christian" was revealed in Chuck Versus the Ring. Personality Devon Woodcomb is shown as very laid-back, and has only rarely been shown angry, and then usually when something threatened Ellie's happiness. Chuck's father describes him as a "straight arrow";"Chuck Versus the Dream Job". his and Ellie's mistaken belief that while drunk he may have gone too far with an exotic dancer at his bachelor party horrifies and shames him. His nickname comes from his love of extreme sports, and he's first identified with the name "Captain Awesome" by Chuck in the pilot episode. In Chuck's words, "Everything he does is awesome. Rock climbing, hang-gliding...flossing." All the other characters frequently use the nickname behind his back except for Ellie, although she did refer to his parents as the "Very Awesomes.""Chuck Versus the Gravitron" He also frequently uses the word "awesome," ("Group hug? Awesome!") to the point where under the effects of truth serum, Ellie angrily tells him that if everything is 'awesome,' then awesome by definition becomes mediocre. Devon is very fit and active. In addition to extreme sports he's also an avid biker and frequently works out. Devon is shown as very relaxed about his appearance and masculinity, teaching Chuck to tango while wearing nothing more than his underwear and a bathrobe (which he discards at one point) and having Chuck put his hands on his butt, and dressing up for Halloween as Adam while wearing only flesh-colored underwear with a fake fig leaf. This comfort level also extends towards sex in general, as he frequently makes suggestive remarks about Chuck and Sarah's"Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon" and his and Ellie's relationships. Devon maintains a close relationship with his UCLA frat brothers, and dislikes Stanford's football team."Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" Devon is intelligent and observant. Although he's unaware that Chuck and Sarah's relationship is just a cover, he accurately recognizes that Sarah's feelings for Chuck are genuine. He may have observed more than is good for him when going under, due to a tranq and later a glimpse of General Beckman on Chuck's computer monitor in "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart." He later learns of Chuck's secret life in "Chuck Versus the Colonel" and is both delighted and highly impressed with his brother-in-law upon realization that Chuck was not "just a loser who worked at the Buy More." His willingness to support Chuck's covert life was shown in "Chuck Versus the Ring" where he agrees to let Morgan stall the wedding upon learning Chuck asked for it. After learning of Chuck's spy work, he initially expressed interest in becoming involved in it himself, assuming it to be a glamorous, adventurous line of work. After the rescue incident at the Costa Gravan embassy, however, he decides he has had enough, being unwilling to jeopardize the life he has with Ellie. This point was further driven home, when he found himself in genuine danger when he was kidnapped and threatened by Ring agent, Sydney Price. After this, Devon was insistent on Chuck keeping his spy work away from him and Ellie, even convincing Ellie to join him in volunteering with Doctors Without Borders in Africa to get away from it - which, ironically, proved futile, as another Ring agent Justin Sullivan managed to endanger Devon's life there, by secretly infecting Devon with malaria to cause him and Ellie to return to Burbank. The difference between Devon and Morgan. Morgan is a loyal member of the team and willing to protect and his friends. Devon spend a day in Chuck's spy world and he can get himself killed like Ellie could. Trivia *Devon was originally intended to be an embedded spy working against Team Bartowski, but proved so popular with the fans that this plan was abandoned. It was referenced in the various observations on how much more like a spy Devon seems than Chuck. 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